Former Minister of Agriculture from 2003 to 2006 in the first government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and an important leader in agribusiness, Roberto Rodrigues follows two international movements that could be harmful to the Brazilian agricultural sector.
The first is the possibility that, at COP-27 —the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held from November 6 to 18 in Egypt — an agreement could be approved to prevent the purchase of soy from areas deforested in the Brazilian Cerrado as of January 2025.
The second is the proposal, approved in September by the European Parliament, for a project that prohibits the entry into that market of commodities originating in areas deforested after December 31, 2019. The text still needs to be validated by the 27 countries of the European Union.
“The boycott [aos produtos agrícolas brasileiros] it is a risk that can be implemented if we do not take care of what is essential: ending illegalities. Illegal deforestation, arson, land invasion — everything that is illegal has to be stopped in the country”, says Rodrigues, in an interview with BBC News Brasil.
Currently coordinator of the Agribusiness Center at the São Paulo School of Economics of Fundação Getulio Vargas (EESP FGV), the former minister says he is grateful to Lula, but praises the policies of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for the agricultural sector. He says he will not declare a vote for the second round and assesses that Brazilian democracy “is not at the slightest risk”.
Rodrigues has argued that the world is experiencing an unequivocal transition from the conventional economy to the green economy and decarbonization.
Asked about the prospects for these agendas under an eventual Lula government with a much more conservative Congress than in 2003, or under a second term of Jair Bolsonaro, he says that the environmental issue will be inescapable.
“Whatever the government in January, the environmental issue has to be dealt with very carefully, with great zeal, otherwise the country will lose ground because of a distorted image. So I believe that things will happen regardless of the government.” .”
Agriculture in the next government
For Rodrigues, there are seven main challenges for the agricultural sector in the government that begins in 2023.
The first is to guarantee logistical infrastructure for the agricultural frontier regions in the Midwest and Matopiba (savanna region in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia), which would depend on private investments and structural reforms to provide security for the investors.
The second challenge, according to the agribusiness leader, is the opening of formal markets through bilateral or multilateral trade agreements, including the sale not only of products, but also of technology and knowledge for production in tropical countries.
Still in the commercial area, he defends the need to add value to Brazilian commodities, which depends on negotiation at the government level, within the scope of the WTO (World Trade Organization), so that the tax scale is mitigated, allowing the sale of products of greater value.
The third point, according to Rodrigues, is investment in technology. “No country can advance without technological innovation, without vigorous investments in research”, says the former minister, highlighting the importance of federal and state research bodies for improving productivity and production quality.
The income policy for the countryside is the fourth priority, in the specialist’s view, who defends the advancement of rural insurance. According to him, this would stimulate the adoption of technology in the countryside and the evolution of private credit to the sector, reducing dependence on public resources.
Rodrigues also defends the evolution of health defense, through the self-regulation of the private sector; support for the private organization of cooperatives; and the “packaging” of all these measures under a perspective of sustainability, with the fight against illegalities.
Bolsonaro government
Asked how he evaluates the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro in relation to policies for the agricultural sector, Rodrigues praises the management of former minister Tereza Cristina and current minister Marcos Montes.
“Tereza Cristina is a wonderful minister, who is being succeeded by another extraordinary minister, Marcos Montes”, says the former minister.
He cites as positive measures of the current administration the ABC+ Plan, of policies for low carbon agriculture; abundant rural credit; and the government’s firm action in the face of the shortage of fertilizers in the market, as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The government rushed to resolve the matter and achieved an important result, in a complex year like this one. So, I make a positive assessment”, he says.
Rodrigues disagrees with the criticisms of researchers in the area of food sovereignty, who consider that there has been a dismantling of policies aimed at family farming in recent years, with the extinction of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and the lack of funding for programs such as the Acquisition of Food, Cisterns and of Rural Technical Assistance.
“I think there was equal attention for everyone and the process of developing family farming has the same commitment as the export activity, only the latter appears more for obvious reasons”, he says, further arguing that the distribution of property titles under the current management was higher than in other governments.
PT administrations
Asked about the mistakes and successes of PT governments in relation to the agro sector, Rodrigues cites his achievements as a minister during the first Lula government.
He recalls that he received strong support from the Agricultural Parliamentary Front, and with this support he managed to approve the Rural Insurance Law and the law that provided for agribusiness bonds, aiming to reduce the sector’s dependence on public credit.
He also mentions the approval of the Biosafety Law; the reform of Conab (National Supply Company); the Embrapa Strengthening and Growth Program (PAC Embrapa); the creation of 23 sectoral chambers by production chains; the creation of a network of agricultural attachés in several Brazilian embassies; and the development of biodiesel.
In several of his recent speeches, when asked about the resistance of agribusiness to the PT, former president Lula has highlighted that, when he took office, Brazilian agricultural exports totaled just under US$ 25 billion, reaching US$ 76 billion at the end. of his second term in 2010.
Exports would continue to grow in the following years until they surpassed US$ 100 billion in recent years.
Asked why, despite the growth of agriculture and livestock in PT administrations, there is so much resistance to the party in the sector to this day, Rodrigues cites two main reasons.
“There is no resistance, there is concern about some facts. For example, some information that there will be taxation on agricultural exports, which would be a mistake,” he says.
“The issue of guaranteeing private property, with land invasions, also scares rural producers a little. They are concerns about campaign issues.”
Rodrigues reinforces that, having been Lula’s minister, he will never “spit on a plate he ate”.
“It wouldn’t be ethical, I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to do good things for the industry I love the most. So I won’t criticize anyone or defend anyone. Don’t force me to do that.”
Green economy is ‘irretrievable’ theme
For the former minister, the transition to a green economy is an “unavoidable” issue.
“The world is moving towards this green economy and we will too, there is nothing to discuss about it”, he says, reinforcing the importance of an official credit and regulatory structure that allows these guidelines – such as the credit market for carbon—advance.
“These are issues that will have to be resolved and will inevitably be the basis of agriculture in any country in the world that wants to be competitive. any Congress, any structure has to move towards this.”
Rodrigues believes that the environmental issue is a central issue for humanity in the 21st century and will be increasingly relevant.
“The rural producer also knows that, that his patrimony, which is his land, has to be cared for environmentally, otherwise he ends up losing his patrimony”, he says.
“Now, what cannot be used as a non-tariff barrier to trade is this central, relevant and determining issue for all humanity. This is hypocrisy.”
This text was originally published here.
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